The
three branches of government (Executive, Legislative and Judicial) are
co-equal. Each branch has specific duties and responsibilities which,
at various times throughout history, various individuals have seemed intent
on ignoring. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the most recent and flagrant
example of presumptive abuse of power, but she by no means is the ‘Lone
Ranger’.

History,
inertia and malfeasance have altered the government that brilliance and
serendipity provided us with as the republic.

Various
presidents (Lincoln, Wilson, FDR, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, Clinton and Bush
the elder and W) have presumed to assume more power and authority than
ever intended.

Members
of Congress have contributed to the overreach of the executive largely
through malfeasance and diffidence in doing their prescribed jobs.

The
judiciary (perhaps recognizing the testosterone deficiency of Congress)
has presumed to not just ‘judge' but to legislate from the bench.

Congress
has the authority (and responsibility) to declare war. However, the gutless
wonders have not done so since Pearl Harbor despite having granted various
presidents the authority to dispatch military adventures all over the
globe over 150 times since World War II.

Much
of the grand standing and petty partisan sniping could and should be eliminated
if government just did the jobs they have. Presidents should not make
laws and Congress should not meddle in foreign policy.

It has
always seemed odd that Congress has eschewed their congressional responsibilities
concerning declaring wars. Declarations of war carry responsibilities
that Congress after Congress has demonstrated they don’t have the interest
or courage for. Oh, they will grant a president the ‘authority’ to make
the tough call, but always cling to sufficient ‘plausible deniability’
to cry for ‘do overs’ if or when things turn sour. Frankly, once they
have proved malfeasant in their responsibility, they give up their right
to righteous indignation and do overs.

I am
again reminded of Teddy Roosevelt’s words in Paris, “It is not the critic
who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or
how the doer of deeds might have done better…” The war critics are the
ones picking at scabs and ripping the strong man as he stumbles.

Roosevelt
observed, “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause;”

That
always reminds me of Dr. Robert Jarvick, inventor of the artificial heart,
who said, “Leaders are visionaries, with a poorly developed sense of fear,
and no concept of the odds against them…they make things happen.”

In other
words, risk takers don’t always score. Babe Ruth held home run records
AND strike out records. If you swing big, you miss big. Mel Gibson had
a great line in ‘The Patriot’ when he was counseling his adolescent son
before an ambush of British troops: “Aim small…miss small…” The collorary
is also true.

When
Roosevelt extolled the virtues of the doer of deeds, he said, “who, if
he wins, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with
those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

The
growing gaggle of political wimps who yearn for the taste of victory without
the risks and danger of making hard decisions are “cold and timid souls.”

I vividly
recall a crusty old Army Master Sergeant at Fort Benning during a leadership
reaction test telling us “…make a decision. If it is wrong, fix it. Better
to fix a wrong decision than to stand around with your head in rectal
defilade over analyzing everything and taking fire.”

Leaders
lead. Usually, they are not remembered for their serial failures, but
rather for their significant successes…which would never happen if they
were “cold and timid souls.”

Once
upon a time 56 extraordinary men pledge to each other their lives, fortunes
and sacred honor. At the time the framers intended for the Constitution
to serve as a bridging mechanism to fix some of the errors in the Articles
of the Confederacy and to quiet some interstate commercial hassles. They
got lucky, and we have been the beneficiaries of their courage, insights
and luck.

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House
Speaker Pelosi, is leading a congressional delegation on a fact-finding
tour of the Middle East. Bullfeathers! She said she would speak to the
Syrians about Iraq, their role in the fight against terrorism, their support
for militant groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas — that’s not her job.
Her job is in Congress not providing photo opportunities and mixed messages
on U.S. foreign policy.

"Geoff Metcalf is a nationally syndicated radio
talk show host for TALK AMERICA and a veteran media performer. He has
had an eclectic professional background covering a wide spectrum of radio,
television, magazine, and newspapers. A former Green Beret and retired
Army officer he is in great demand as a speaker. Visit Geoff's

Congress
has eschewed their congressional responsibilities concerning declaring
wars. Declarations of war carry responsibilities that Congress after Congress
has demonstrated they don’t have the interest or courage for.